McALLEN, October 23 - San Antonio-based attorney Mikal Watts will announce this morning that he is pulling out of the race for U.S. Senate, the Guardian has learned.
Watts, a Democrat, made calls to close supporters early this morning to explain his decision. He cited family reasons.
One of those Watts called was state Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, one of the first lawmakers to endorse him.
“Mikal called this morning, around 7 a.m., and told me he was pulling out of the race. He cited family reasons,” Hinojosa said. “Mikal is very close to his kids and he has never held public office before. It can take a lot out of you."
Watts is married to his wife of 14 years, Tammy, and they have three children, Taylor, age 13; Hailey, age 11; and Brandon, age 9.
"While I think Mikal would have beaten Senator Cornyn, I respect his decision to put family first," Hinojosa added.
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is Texas’ junior senator. Watts has been exploring the idea of running for Cornyn’s seat since July. Another Democrat considering a run is state Rep. Rick Noriega, D-Houston.
In August, more than a dozen mayors from the Rio Grande Valley said they would endorse Watts. This month Watts reported $8.3 million in cash in his campaign account, most of it coming from himself.
Watts is expected to make an announcement about his intentions later this morning.
There is something fishy about all this. And everything points to Corpus Christi, Tx
Will do some digging and see what we can come up with!
